Vulcan Materials Company Named TCTC Foundation’s 2025 Philanthropist of the Year
Press Release
Date: October 14, 2025
Contact: lgarrett@tctc.edu
Vulcan Materials Company Named TCTC Foundation’s 2025 Philanthropist of the Year
PENDLETON --- Vulcan Materials Company and Vulcan Materials Company Foundation is the 2025 recipient of the Tri-County Technical College Foundation’s Philanthropist of the Year award.
This is the Foundation’s highest and most prestigious honor reserved for individuals, foundations, companies, trusts, organizations or other entities that have made a significant financial contribution, either cash or non-cash, to the Foundation to support the work of the College.
Courtney White, executive director of TCTC’s Foundation, presented the award to Elliott Botzis, vice president and general manager of Vulcan Materials Company South Carolina Division located in Piedmont, at the College’s Annual Report reception held October 14.
Vulcan Materials Company has been a loyal donor to the TCTC Foundation since 2018 when the company made its first gift in support of workforce development. Prompted by a need to secure employees with a specific skill set, Vulcan Materials organized the first clay shoot fundraiser in 2018 to raise money to purchase equipment for the College’s Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO) program. The inaugural event raised $47,000, and those proceeds were used to match the College’s capital expense funds to obtain a $235,705 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to launch the training program. A second event was held in 2019. Together these events raised a total of $141,560, all of which was directed toward purchasing equipment for the program.
“The goal of the HEO program is to serve as a talent pipeline for the construction and mining industries that are facing the loss of a large population of skilled operators who are preparing to retire in the next several years,” said Mary Corley, assistant dean of TCTC’s Engineering and Industrial Technology (EIT) Division. The national credential-based training is meeting the critical workforce needs in road construction, commercial construction, mining, and transportation companies in Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties.
“By taking the initiative to raise funds in such a meaningful way, Vulcan not only provided immediate support but also brought attention to the growing demand for qualified operators in the industry,” said Corley.
In August 2023, Vulcan made a $100,000 cornerstone gift to TCTC’s HEO program. “This transformative contribution helped establish a state-of-the-art training program that is now a model for other institutions to follow,” said White.
Vulcan leveraged its vast network within the aggregate and construction, using their influence and personal relationships to secure an additional $125,000 in support of the program. TCTC plans to leverage these gifts with another potential grant to launch the program to the next level with additional equipment containing the newer technology that students will encounter on actual work sites. These planned equipment improvements were recommended by the training program’s advisory board, on which a Vulcan representative also serves, said Corley.
“This career pathway is crucial to our industry, and TCTC is helping lead the way with this operator training program,” said Botzis.
“Vulcan Materials Company’s sustained philanthropic actions have been instrumental in establishing a program that is not only crucial to TCTC’s workforce but also serves as a national example of how community and industry can collaborate to address workforce needs,” said TCTC President Galen DeHay.
“Since 2017, Elliott Botzis has been a driving force in support of workforce training for heavy equipment operators at TCTC,” said Corley. “Not only has he been a champion within Vulcan Materials to benefit our training program, but he has also been a champion in encouraging other companies within the mining and construction community to support this program, which has resulted in additional financial contributions to expand and improve this program. Elliott’s passion for advancing the mining and construction industries and his tireless dedication in supporting Tri-County’s Heavy Equipment Operator training program have been a catalyst for the success of this program’s graduates, and his legacy will live on in the graduates who continue to enter the workforce in careers as equipment operators in these industries,” Corley said.
About Tri-County Technical College
Tri-County Technical College, a public two-year community and technical college serving Anderson, Oconee and Pickens Counties in South Carolina, enrolls more than 9,000 students annually and offers more than 70 major fields of study, including computer technology, industrial electronics, mechatronics, nursing, and university transfer programs. Tri-County boasts the highest student success rate among two-year colleges in the state and ranks in the top one percent nationally for successful student transfers to four-year colleges and universities. To learn more, visit tctc.edu.
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